Instituto de Justicia Procesal Penal, A.C.

Instituto de Justicia Procesal Penal was founded to promote full respect for human rights in the criminal justice system. It promotes good practices that uphold the principle of presumption of innocence, seeks to limit the indiscriminate use of pretrial detention, and promotes adherence to due process protections in justice proceedings. The award supports trainings and technical assistance to strengthen civil society organizations’ capacity to demand improved investigations from prosecutors at both state-and national levels. It also supports technical assistance to two state-level prosecutor’s offices to implement policies and procedures that are based on documented good practices throughout Latin America.

Instituto de Justicia Procesal Penal is a non-profit organization with expertise in Mexico’s justice system. It promotes good practices that uphold the principle of presumption of innocence, seeks to limit the indiscriminate use of pretrial detention, and promotes adherence to due process protections in justice proceedings. It is one of the leading organizations in a broad coalition working to secure an independent, fully functional National Prosecutor’s Office. The award supports the development of technically-sound policy proposals for the new Prosecutor’s Office and entails drafting policy documents, gathering feedback from experts in other countries, and shaping advocacy strategies with partner organizations.

This award supports Instituto de Justicia Procesal Penal’s activities to advance implementation of the accusatory system in Mexico. The Institute has substantial expertise in the new system and its work has been recognized by public and private institutions. The project supports incorporation of good practices by justice system operators. Focusing on the investigative stage within the criminal justice process, the Institute conducts focus groups and trainings for prosecutors, public defenders and judges to incorporate good practices that protect due process throughout the investigative stage of the justice process. Strengthening prosecutors’ personal participation in oral trials as well as victims’ participation in the justice process are some of the project’s primary goals.

The Observatorio Ciudadano del Sistema de Justicia (the Citizens' Observatory of the Justice System) is a watchdog body dedicated to monitoring Mexico's justice reform to ensure that human rights and due process guarantees are incorporated into the operation of the new criminal justice system. It combines data analysis, in-court monitoring, communications, and engagement with government authorities to promote these objectives throughout justice reform implementation, with a particular emphasis on investigation protocols and evidentiary standards. The three Foundation grantees that constitute the Observatory are: Asistencia Legal por los Derechos Humanos, Comision Mexicana para la Defensa y Promoci6n de los Derechos Humanos, and Instituto de Justicia Procesal Penal.

The Instituto de Justicia Procesal Penal (IJPP) is an independent organization that supports the reform of the Mexican criminal justice system and provides technical assistance to state governments in their implementation of the reform. With MacArthur support IJPP will address key gaps that undermine the effectiveness of the new system in the eight states where it is operational. The project will better protect the rights of victims and the accused, generate stricter compliance with due process guarantees, and improve public and media support for the system.